About the Delaware River and its tributary streams -
With an occasional voyage into uncharted waters

Sunday, October 03, 2010

Drought Buster...

This has been a familiar pattern over the past ten years or so: an extended dry period or drought that is abruptly ended by a tropical storm, or hurricane.

We likely had enough extended soaking rain to break the drought warning, and more rain is on the way. My new hometown recorded over 8 inches.

It's important that this tropical precipitation occurs before the ground freezes so that some groundwater recharge can take place. Stream base flows and wetlands will be perky heading into next spring.

The Schuylkill River and Perkiomen Creek were two Delaware Basin streams that overflowed their banks. Most others like the Delaware itself and its other major tributaries merely flirted with flooding. The Delaware River at Riegelsville got up to 20+ feet, which is a few feet below flood stage.